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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Alternative title could be “Pervy Eric Idle talks about his famous friends”. Very entertaining, and he’s led a hell of a life, why shouldn’t he want to talk about it?
What to do with a celebrity everyone already knows, someone who brought you the earworm of a song from whence comes our title, and was instrumental in bringing you things like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and of course, Spamalot? What must their journey through something like 60 years of showbiz be like? And further, how does one prepare for such a thing when the author is self-deprecating, and admittedly name-droppingly pretentious? When it is Eric Idle, it's quite simple - you just power through. Though the book gets name-salad sections pretty frequently, many of these will be stories you'll want to read, and the stuff you don't know is fascinating, hilarious, and often heartwarming. This is Idle's chance to brag on himself, and fortunately, he's got it coming.
very funny autobiography which I really enjoyed and made me laugh a lot
Who am I to tell Eric Idle what his memoirs should feature? At one point I skimmed a couple of other reviews on the book's Goodreads page, with people critical that so much of this book featured anecdotes about Idle's life galavanting with living legends (George Harrison, Robin Williams, Stephen Hawking to name just a few). As I read, I found the stories to flow so naturally that I really couldn't see what the fuss was about. Many stories had a random photograph as illustration, so I imagine that the photos drove a fair amount of the content. I learned a lot about Idle that I didn't know before—things that he spoke about outright like his childhood years, but some between-the-lines stuff like that his personality seems to be fairly different than I had imagined it, if I had gone through the trouble of actually imagining it. I had basically no preconceived notions of him or this book when I discovered it at the library, I was not expecting a master class in how to write classic cult comedy, nothing like that. It was a fast but entertaining read, which was exactly what I needed at the moment I read it.
Interested in Monty Python and/ or Eric Idle's career and personal life you may want to give this memoir a try.
I listened to the audio book of this and it was really funny. I learned a few things about Monty Python and that Eric Idle had a close friendship with George Harrison. He makes no bones that he wasn’t good to his first wife and was unfaithful. Not everything is about Monty Python in it and the stories he tells about things he has done with famous friends is cute. A great audio book and I think I enjoyed it more that way since he does play a bit of music and there is one audio interruption gag that is good for a chuckle.
DNF @ about page 189.
Nothing wrong with it, I just think I need to understand Monty Python before I continue.
Nothing wrong with it, I just think I need to understand Monty Python before I continue.
Michael is still my favorite Python (with John coming in second and George Harrison, third) but ‘e’s aw’ri.
Superb blurb:
I was once coming home through LAX when a steely-eyed immigration officer peered suspiciously at me. “How long have you been a green card holder?” “Oh, I have had it for ages,” I said. “More than twenty years.” “Then why aren’t you an American?” “Erm. Er…Well... [] Is it not enough I live in your fair country and pay my taxes? Now you wish me to put my hand on my heart and pledge allegiance to a self-righteous, lying, tax-avoiding moron, and his racist, gay-bashing, environmentally dangerous, greedy-bastard, science-denying cronies, who reject evolution and the rights of women, and plunder the planet for profit to please their powerful funders, stealing the very air and clean water of their children, while tweeting insanely and lying through their teeth on propaganda TV channels that would have shamed Joseph Goebbels? No, sir! The French do not shrug at me sardonically and ask me why I am not French. The Norwegians do not stop me on their shores and insist I wear thick knitwear and a large red anorak and retire into the countryside suffering from Ibsen and ennui. The Australians don’t force me into baggy swim pants to stand on planks in orange sunscreen hurtling across their shark-infested waters singing ‘Advance Australia Fair.’ No, sir. Enough, sir. I am a taxpayer, a member of your Academy, a Grammy winner, a Tony winner, a father of an American, a lover of America, married to an American wife with an American child, but not, sir, an American!” Did I say any of that? Are you kidding me? I fear all authority.
Superb blurb:
I was once coming home through LAX when a steely-eyed immigration officer peered suspiciously at me. “How long have you been a green card holder?” “Oh, I have had it for ages,” I said. “More than twenty years.” “Then why aren’t you an American?” “Erm. Er…Well... [] Is it not enough I live in your fair country and pay my taxes? Now you wish me to put my hand on my heart and pledge allegiance to a self-righteous, lying, tax-avoiding moron, and his racist, gay-bashing, environmentally dangerous, greedy-bastard, science-denying cronies, who reject evolution and the rights of women, and plunder the planet for profit to please their powerful funders, stealing the very air and clean water of their children, while tweeting insanely and lying through their teeth on propaganda TV channels that would have shamed Joseph Goebbels? No, sir! The French do not shrug at me sardonically and ask me why I am not French. The Norwegians do not stop me on their shores and insist I wear thick knitwear and a large red anorak and retire into the countryside suffering from Ibsen and ennui. The Australians don’t force me into baggy swim pants to stand on planks in orange sunscreen hurtling across their shark-infested waters singing ‘Advance Australia Fair.’ No, sir. Enough, sir. I am a taxpayer, a member of your Academy, a Grammy winner, a Tony winner, a father of an American, a lover of America, married to an American wife with an American child, but not, sir, an American!” Did I say any of that? Are you kidding me? I fear all authority.
Eric Idle has always been my favorite member of Monty Python so I absolutely had to listen to this book. I can't imagine just reading this book. Listening to him read this made the book.
This book was so much fun. He is an unapologetic famous person. He talks a lot about all of his famous friends. He points out that he has non-famous friends but that no one in interested in reading about them. He hung out with Beatles and Rolling Stones and all the other famous comedians in the 1970s so the stories are as wild as you'd expect. One of my favorite stories was when Graham Chapman had a party at his house for his parents. His parents were ready to go to bed at 10 PM but first they politely kicked the Rolling Stones out of the house. I can see how some people would think of these stories as name dropping or bragging but he is full of so much love for his friends and joy for his life that I loved hearing about it. What can you expect from a man who gave a toast at David Bowie's wedding to Iman and once got mistaken for a Beatle while standing next to George Harrison (who was pushed aside unrecognized)?
He weaves the story of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life through the book. He wrote it to have a happy ending in his movie that actually ended with the main character being crucified. Since then it has taken on a life of its own. It started being sung during British military disasters and then at funerals. He's sung it for the Queen and during the Olympics. He's sung it in drag and in a tutu, as one does.
If you are a Monty Python fan who has watched the many documentaries about the history of the Pythons you'll love this book. You'll have already gotten a good grasp of the official history from those shows. This book will fill in what fun was happening behind the scenes and in the time since.
This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story